'Kong's Night Out' - A 'Gigantic' Treat for Concord

Submitted by Ellen Burger

The Community Players of Concord, New Hampshire, is proud to present Kong’s Night Out, a comedic farce written by Jack Neary of Derry.
Inspired by the classic 1933 silent film, King Kong, this 1930s screwball comedy is filled with silliness, slapstick, art deco fashion and glamour, featuring plenty of colorful characters, door slams, witty banter and running gags.  Performances will be staged on February 14 and 15, at 7:30 p.m. and February 16 at 2:00 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince Street, Concord, N.H.  Tickets cost $16 for adults and $14 for juniors and seniors if purchased before February 12, $18 and $16 thereafter.  Tickets may be purchased online at http://communityplayersofconcord.org or at the Auditorium box office on February 12, 13, 14 and 15 between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. and on February 16 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.  For more ticket information visit the above website or contact David Murdo at (603) 344-4747 or nhdm40@comcast.net.  Friday and Saturday night audiences should note the new 7:30 p.m. curtain time for this season.

Kong’s Night Out deftly mixes the genre of 1930s screwball farce with the tradition of backstage drama, inventively imagining the backstory of what was going on in the swank hotel suite next to the room from which an enraged King Kong plucked his blond bombshell love interest, Ann Darrow, before storming Manhattan and climbing atop the Empire State Building.  The story begins with nearly unhinged producer, Myron Siegel, learning that tickets for his sure-to-bomb extravaganza, Foxy Felicia, are being returned in droves as audiences flock to buy tickets for the top-secret “attraction” to be unveiled that same night by Siegel’s lifelong nemesis, Carl Denham.  Siegel’s nagging, potty-mouthed, ex-stripper mother is equally frantic, because if opening night is a bust, the show’s main financial backer, a flamboyant, eccentric Hungarian, will withdraw and leave them in ruins.  Siegel’s “vocabulary-rich” loyal henchman and his dorky niece, a clueless rube right off the bus from Buffalo, help Siegel discover the nature of Denham’s mystery “attraction,” ultimately hatching a plot to steal the rumored creature and add him to Siegel’s show.  Siegel’s glamorous, sexy but two-timing wife sides with rival Denham, her lover, while Darrow’s dopey fiancé desperately attempts to keep Ann out of Kong’s hands.  Or should we say “hand?”  True to the 1930s screwball genre, the result is zany, frenzied, fast-paced fun -- an easy treat for audiences to enjoy on the upcoming Valentine’s Day weekend.

Director Michael Coppola is particularly pleased to lead the Concord Community Players in this first ever community theater presentation ofKong’s Night Out, in view of its local roots.  The show premiered in Boston at the Lyric Stage in 2006, and enjoyed further successful professional runs at the New Century Theatre in Northhampton, Mass., and at the Meadow Brook Theatre in Michigan, the latter starring Cindy Williams (“Shirley”) and Eddy Mekka (“Carmine Ragusa”) of TV’s Laverne and Shirley fame.  Kong’s Night Out author Jack Neary is a successful playwright, director, and actor, with credits that span the gamut of page, stage and screen.  His plays are offered through major publishers and have been produced all over the United States, in Canada and in Europe. (Links to his plays are available at his website http://jacknearyonline.com.)  A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity Association and the Dramatists Guild, Neary has on-screen credits that include television appearances on Law and Order and Showtime’s Brotherhood series, as well as a role in the Ben Affleck film, The Town.  Director Coppola, a New Hampshire actor and director with many stage, television and film credits of his own, is inspired by Neary’s work and glad for the opportunity to remind New Hampshire audiences of the depth of local literary and performing arts talent. 
“Kong’s Night Out  is a well-constructed, creative and entertaining show,” Coppola says, “and I think our audiences will find it particularly impressive, knowing that the author is local and perhaps sitting in the audience with them.”